Her First Mistake

Chapter Nineteen: For a Temper Tantrum?

   Something was suffocating me. I shifted in my sleep, confused, until I realized I could actually feel the hand against my head. My eye shot wide open and I thrust my hands up. Crimson shot upwards and someone shrieked. I rolled out of bed and prepared myself, but instead saw a familiar blonde hit the bed and laugh. "Sorry!"

   "Allie?!" My heart was racing. For a second there, she had me convinced Dani had returned to kill me. My hand moved to my neck subconsciously. "What the absolute hell?"

   "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she wheezed, holding her stomach. "But you wouldn't wake up! Ashley literally dumped a bottle on you and you still didn't move."

   "Freaking hell, Allie," I groaned, getting to my feet. My hands shook with adrenaline and water dripped from my hair into my shirt. "All you need is a taser." A small electric shock would be enough to zap me up, from what Alexie had been using to wake me up for the past five months.

   "A taser?" She stuck her tongue out. "Where the heck am I supposed to get one?"

   I shook my head. "Why are you here? How are you here?" I was pretty sure Alexie didn't reveal where he lived. So how did Allie get in?

   "I'm setting up the party, of course."

   I looked at her oddly, rubbing my eye. "What party?" 

  "Your celebration!" She grinned, sitting up and swinging her legs. "You know, for advancing to the final stage of training. Every neutral has a party when they're almost done with training. Alexie contacted me to set it up."

   "Final stage?" I narrowed my eyes and left the bedroom. Alexie was sitting on the couch, reading. In old pajamas, with wet hair, and sleep lines across my face, I demanded, "You seriously advanced me for that?"

   He looked over lazily. "For what?"

   "For having a temper tantrum?"

   He shrugged. "A powerful one."

   "Oh, come on--"

   "Hey, Mr. Albers, can I have some of this?" An unfamiliar girl was peering in Alexie's fridge. She pulled out a container of cooked pasta. "I'm starving." Her hair was the same color as Allie's, but chopped short. Sharp brown eyes peered into the fridge. She wore a crooked halter top and suspenders.

   "Ask Roxie," said Alexie dryly. "She rules it now."

   "Damn right," I muttered, turning around to change out of my tank top and shorts.

   "Hey, Roxie, can I?"

   "As long as you don't try to kill me in my sleep, fine."

   "I'm sorry!" protested Allie, but I had already closed the door. I leaned my head against it, unsure of what to think. I'd gone from considering myself to as good as dead to being told that I was good enough to be advanced to the final level of training. Alexie had considered my little tantrum to be good. Now he had allowed strangers into his house to throw me a party?

   This guy was the definition of confusing.

   A few minutes later, I exited the room wearing my good ol' jeans and t-shirt. The girl -- I presumed she was Ashley -- had warmed up some of the pasta and was enjoying it. Apparently, I'd slept all the way to lunch. Allie bit into a cracker she'd found and smiled. "This is Ashley, my big sister. Say hi."

   Ashley mumbled around her food. Allie snorted. "We found a good building to rent for tonight. Harley, Blue, Winston, and Liam are all heading that way with some decorators. Ashley's going to find someone to cater the event, too. We're going all-out."